Friday, April 23, 2010

El Salvador Preview - Saturday 4:30 p.m.

I'm writing this now because I'm not sure I'll have the time after tonight's Afghanistan game. Obviously a lot can change - injury, psyche, fatigue, overconfidence, hangovers - but I'm taking that all into account with my experience of how Norway recovers from most games.

I think the Norway vs. El Salvador tilt will be the most skilled and most entertaining game of any other in Group B. El Salvador has numerous top-flight players with creativity, passion and scoring touch and it was no fluke that they made it to the final in 2009. They're a tough opponent for Norway because they pass extremely well and they're fit, two traits the Norwegians usually like to exploit in other teams.

However, El Salvador also is cursed with some major egos. It might sound rich to read it on this blog (hypocrite, cynic, whatever) but I really think that El Salvador's expectation that they will win every match will be their undoing. It isn't every player on their squad, but there are some moody "superstars" who react very poorly when their team isn't able to have its way. This is the key to the match.

For Norway to win it will have to win ugly. Hard tackles and hard fouls that quite possibly will result in disciplinary action from the referee. It is essential for Norway to get under the skin of the El Salvador players and hope that the mental edge will throw off El Salvador's slick attack. If/when that happens, Norway will have to capitalize on counter-attacking the giveaways that will result. Missed chances mean that Norway will lose because those chances are likely to be few.

I expect the midfield battle in this game to be a draw. Whichever team wins will have shown they were dominant team on the wings and were able to generate chances from the outside. Expect El Salvador to get frustrated and expect there to be some intense one-on-one battles. That said, this is one outcome I'm far from certain of.

I predict a draw, 4-4, with the tying goal scored in the final 5 minutes.

whoa I heard about this blog so I decided to check it out, and I have to say with all do respect, Norway is a good team from what I have seen but we will come up top by defeating norway, it will be a battle to the end but we will prevail. ES for life

Disclaimer

The contents of this blog, Except For Comments, are the opinion of the Author and the Author alone. Comments do not represent the views of World Class Players Sport Inc., or the WCP Cup, or their associated businesses, etc. The Author is Braden Husdal and he can be reached at bradenac5@hotmail.com. If you want to complain or if you've got a sweet column idea, email the author and he'll do what he can. DON'T contact the WCP Cup organizing committee because it won't know what you're talking about and will probably ignore you. And you dont' want to make the organizers mad, because then this could happen to you.